McCarthy had offered to assist Lima in a legal battle against his landlord, Notting Hill Genesis (NHG). After his mother's death in 2019, NHG attempted to evict Lima due to accumulated rent arrears, which totalled £23,000.
During the dispute, McCarthy advised Lima to transfer his rent payments into an account named ‘court rent account’ in her possession, alleging it would offset the rent while the dispute persisted.
However, she stole £15,000 from this account, as confirmed by WhatsApp evidence provided by Lima. Despite court orders to declare her assets and provide details of the payments, McCarthy repeatedly ignored or postponed her responses.
Having missed several hearings and failed to comply with court orders, she was sentenced in her absence to nine months imprisonment. Judge Roberts stated that McCarthy deliberately took advantage of Lima and showed no remorse. The sentence is suspended for 14 days, after which she will be arrested if she does not comply by October 25.
Furthermore, it was revealed that McCarthy owes Hounslow Council over £2,000 due to removing her child from school.